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LEADERSHIP, MINISTRY AND TRAINING IN CHANGING CHURCHES
(Ruse, Bulgaria, 14.09.2015)
Yann Redalié, Facoltà Valdese di Teologia, Rome
In the first part of my speech, I will make some observations on the relationship and
dialectics between leadership and pastoral Ministry (I).Secondly, I will focus on the
experience matured in our Methodist and Waldensian Churches in Italy concerning the
intercultural training of leaders (II). Finally, the third part of my paper wishes illustrate
select Bible passages that deal with the evolution of intercultural communities, in the
firm belief that the Scripture is the foundation of every Ministry in the Church (III).
NB: In my oral speech in Ruse I spoke first the third part in the morning (III: “The Bible, common
ground or bone of contention?”), and, in the afternoon, the first and the second part (I. on ministry
and leadership, and II. On training and Interculture)
I: What qualities are required for the Ministry?
"If one aspires to the post of Minister (to episcopè, "ministry"), one aspires to
beautiful work" (1 Tim 3,1). In the Letter of 1Timothy, the part on the Ministry of
episcopos and deacons (1 Tim 3,1 to 13) comes after detailing the role of prayer of the
whole community, of men and women (1 Tim 2,8 to 15) and reaches its conclusion in
the Christological foundation of hymn of 1 Tim 3,16. Thus, set in the midst of
community life, the ministries considered are objects of a list of prerequisites that must
be fulfilled to gain access. What is striking are the stereotyped traits of the required
qualities. Although this does not mean that the problems are not real, one of the
prerequisites is maintaining a distance from wine, violence and greed (1 Tim 3,3.8; Tt
1,7s). More generally, the qualities required for Ministers (episcopos, diaconoi 1 Tim
3,1 to 13, "God’s stewards" Tt 1, 7) do not differ from one another depending on the
tasks. Rules for the episcopos also apply to deacons or elders and in part apply to
widows and to every believer, they are not specific.
Moreover, the qualities required to access the pastoral ministry are very similar to
those that were needed to cover any official role in the Hellenistic world. The text,
which is often cited in this regard, is the profile of a General written by Onosandros, a
tactician from the 1st Century AD. This work has more than one similarity with our
writings. In addition to similar terms indicating being "sensible, prudent, wise," or
"master of oneself" [self-control], "disinterested, nor covetous nor stingy", the text
contains similar themes, which are expressed in different terms: sobriety, fatherhood,
the ability to communicate.
Is "leadership" a necessary quality for the Ministry?
Encouraged by the pastoral epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) in which the
qualities required to become ministers and community leaders were not very different
from those required in every candidate for public office in the in the Hellenistic and
Roman era (gymnasiums, public building administrators, prosecutors, engineers, ...), I
believe we should focus on how the function of leadership is defined in management,
and, more generally, in the political and social arenas. The following step will be then to
question what may be the relationship between leadership and the pastoral role.
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Leadership can be defined (among possible definitions I choose one for our
discussion) as “a relationship of authority and of influence based on the relationships
that the leader establishes with the members of a group”. Being a leader stems from the
recognition of that role by a group and does not depend on a charter.
According to this definition “leadership” can be synthetized in four points:
The ability of a person to influence and “federate” a group
to achieve a common goal
in a relationship of mutual trust
for a limited period of time
This ability to influence and “federate” a group implies the leader’s ability to
communicate effectively with team members, to convince the group to espouse a
common goal and to motivate team members to achieve said goals.
In this perspective, the group is defined by the achievement of a common goal,
which manifests itself in three ways. A vision, which aims to inspire team members and
give action a purpose. One or more goals, which aim to frame the action - objectives
area verbalization, an explicit "putting into words" the vision. Several strategic and
operational objectives that are intended to guide action. Operational objectives should
be translated into measurable indicators and should be organized in a time frame.
In addition, a leader receives his authority from the group members who recognize
him/her as such. This involves the trust of the group towards the leader and the trust
between the leader and the group; mutual respect and mutual listening; and of course an
exemplary leader, if he/she wants to maintain the confidence of the group over time ...
Finally, one cannot be a leader at any time, or for a long period. Circumstances play
an important role (e.g., a crisis can radically upset leadership positions in a group).
When the situation requires it, a leader must be able to delegate leadership, which
implies using participatory or democratic leadership by sharing the responsibility of the
decision-making process with group members; being able to make room for others if
necessary, especially when a person is more competent on a given topic; being humble
given that a leader exists only through a group ...
Herbert von Karajan once said: "the art of conducting is knowing how to abandon the
baton in order not to disturb the orchestra."
Some observations
At a first glance, certain specific projects of our churches require a type of leadership
that corresponds to these characteristics. For example, an Italian language school for
foreigners; the organization of distance learning (by extension) at University; projects
related to the '' refugee emergency"; actions related to diaconate, hospitals or nursing
homes; actions of evangelization, biblical formation or articulation of the various
groups that are active in the community. A leadership, which is defined in these terms,
corresponds to certain projects or fairly precise tasks and is subject to periodic
verification in the medium term.
However, on an other side, we are also facing a much more general definition of the
role of "leadership," one that is in line with a strong connotation deriving from our
Methodist tradition that is present in our churches and particularly valued among the
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Methodist groups from Africa. Concerning this tradition, Theodore Runyon states: "The
true core of the leadership of the movement was to be found in the class leaders. They
supplied the personal and pastoral contact and care for individual members "(visits,
comfort, care of the soul, etc. ...). "Class leaders developed a variety of pastoral skills".
Among their tasks, guiding the weekly prayers, songs, testimonies and so on. They then
could become "lay preachers". In these cases, the leadership was, at least in part, a
sharing of the pastoral function, an extension and sometimes a substitute for it.
For example, on the one hand in the speech of the Ghanaian Methodists sisters and
brothers, and not only in theirs, there is something very close to this Wesleyan view. In
our Waldensian and Methodist churches in Italy, the Ghanaian "group of leaders"
became a "service team" and now aims to contribute to the function of the pastor,
especially concerning intercultural ministry. We will come back to this point in the
second part of my speech. On the other hand, although it is clear that the situation and
the conditions have changed completely, - we have no more classes -, some pastors
point out that they are not able to do everything. With several churches entrusted to the
circuits, a pastor is often no longer the pastor of a single church and must therefore
delegate. What should be delegated? How should one delegate? Whose has the
responsibility of the content transmitted by the delegates? How should delegates be
prepared? The issue of training, and for us of intercultural training, is of primary
importance, as we will see shortly. Here we find again some qualities of the new
leadership (democratic leadership, sharing the decision making process,…)
Leader and / or Pastor
The function of leadership, as characterized above, corresponds to certain projects
and tasks of our churches. It is also a part of the pastoral ministry and therefore a part of
those who are delegated to this task or responsibility. Knowing how to communicate
and to convince, knowing how to illustrate projects in a concrete way, how to create
mutual confidence, "federate" individuals and groups, ensure mutual respect and
listening.
However, leadership, understood as described above, does not exhaust the pastoral
task and function. Without delving into the matter of the fundamental theological tasks
of a pastor such as the correct preaching of the Word, the Bible, the administration of
the sacraments, the caring of the soul, in the exercise of the pastoral ministry there are
concrete specific aspects, in the practice, that cannot be limited to leadership. I would
mention a few.
"Pastoral" time is not defined only by the achievement of the objectives. Many tasks
are long-term and sometimes are open-ended (the accompaniment, the consolation, the
care of souls, repeat visits, existential and spiritual questions…). On the one hand, an
essential pastoral quality is to be fully present, to be totally present “at the present
relation” (group or individual), to be able to take the opportunity of deep listening, of
the spoken word, of the relationship awaiting to be created. On the other hand, a pastor
must guarantee reliability over time ("I can count on you" also in the future).
Besides the necessary listening to each other, the pastor must be able to give
something back (“restitution”), which is not simply listening. One could say it is active
listening. This can lead to the word and to sharing; the experience lived by the people
and by the community (joy, suffering, commitment, waiting, fear, desire, success and
failure). Lives that are reinterpreted, made present, "given back" and reshaped through
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worship or prayer, in connection with the reading of the Bible, in celebrations or even
only during personal dialogue. Liturgy is a community restitution before God who puts
that experience into another dimension. When we speak of God's salvation, we are
speaking of our own salvation, of that of our neighbors, near and far. Otherwise,
religious language separates us from our own life.
Perhaps here we find again this ability to "federate", which we spoke about for
leadership. It is about finding connections and links between people, groups and
initiatives where they were not obvious or expected. All this requires a thorough
preparation to nurture a great attention and ability to improvise, to grasp opportunities.
To link items in a way we do not usually do.
Finally, when it comes to authority, the authority of the pastor and other ministers is
granted by the church with a certified role at the end of specific training and is
expressed ecclesiastically through consecration. But in its concrete exercise a pastoral
authority is recognized in, and by, the community when it "authorizes". That is to say, it
makes each and every one of us an "author", as Jesus did with the Gerasene Demoniac
who was cured and sent back among his people to tell them about great things the Lord
had done for him (Mk 5,1 to 20). He was not only cured, he has been made an “author”
of the narration of the great things the Lord had done for him.
II. What training for changing churches?
In our Waldensian and Methodist churches in Italy, the dialectic between leadership
and pastoral role is lived in an increasingly heterogeneous reality of the local
community. And this is in this general situation of heterogeneity the we are
encountering the Intercultural Challenge.
The challenge that arises from the collaboration over many decades with immigrant
sisters and brothers from several continents (Ukraine, Philippines, Korea, South
America, Africa, especially Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon,) also fits into the general
framework of growing heterogeneity. This multicultural coming together has been lived
by our churches choosing the model of "Being Church Together". This model intends to
qualify the meeting between the immigrant sisters and brothers beyond solidarity, help
and service, which are still necessary. It aims to affirm clearly, "the communion with
migrant evangelical believers is a fundamental part of our being Church. It is not limited
to the work of diaconal assistance, even essential, for and with immigrants in general."
Furthermore, the meeting was driven by the notable presence of sisters and brothers
who were members of the churches of their country of origin and who stayed true to
their denominational identity (Methodists of the Philippines and Ghana or Nigeria,
Churches from Korea and Ukraine). This has led to a reinterpretation of denominational
native identities.
I will present some reflections on the relationship with groups from Ghana. In truth,
the most important meeting of the last few decades has been that with immigrant
members of the Methodist Church of Ghana, who were also the majority of participants
in our first intercultural training course.
Dynamics of an encounter
For over 30 years, the African Methodists with other migrants who have entered in
the Italian church, on the one hand, have brought a renewed vitality and rejuvenation of
participation in the life of the churches. The intercultural aspects are interwoven with
the intergenerational elements. The enrichment of diversity has breathed new life and
fresh energy in many communities in need, creating a new interest on the part of Italians
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who are happily drawn to this unusual sociability. On the other hand, new tensions and
risks of misunderstanding have arisen. The path to follow to "be church together"
requires the identification of the betterments and of the difficulties stemming from such
an encounter so they, the difficulties, can be overcome.
The question is not only quantitative, nor solely cultural or ethnic. In the African
Methodist groups, particularly among Ghanaians, there is a spiritual quality in living the
church that is perceived as much more intense, strong, all encompassing, than the
indigenous secularized European community. The African group often spends the entire
Sunday in church, a day that is, anyway, the focus of the weekly rhythm and social life.
The way of living and experiencing church is different. With an ecclesiology based
on the ideals of the African family, participation in the life of the church follows family
ties, memberships and local languages. In Italy, the church serves as the backbone to
help recreate an African environment. At the same time, it is the venue to discuss
common problems concerning work, education, accommodation, etc. Unlike the Italian
belonging to Protestant communities of the city, where it is the individuals, often
coming from various religious and existential paths, who individually form the church
in a secularized environment, for Africans joining the community, it is first and
foremost a collective matter. Recognition comes from a network of homogeneous
families.
The African church is based on a strong identity of pastoral leadership. The tension
between, on the one hand the compactness and homogeneity of the African networks
and, on the other hand, a much more diverse and less compact fabric of the ecclesial
Italian environment in our mixed communities is reflected on a pastoral role which is
already delicately searching its configuration in contemporary society. Not all the
initiatives that are promoted by the structures and leadership of the African network are
referred to the Pastor and the Council of the Church, a council where the members of
the African groups are represented. Nor do they belong to the unified journey of the
whole community. Frequently, complaints are made about lack of communication and
transparency on the intent and methods of agendas or of parallel use of money. The
transition from the already mentioned "group of Ghanaian leaders" to "service team" is
quite significant in this regard as trying to adjust.
Is training the answer?
To answer these important issues and others related to “being church together”, or at
least to address such issues concretely, the Waldensian and Methodist churches (first
alone and then opening the experiences to other evangelical churches through the
Federation of Churches Evangelical in Italy) have designed intercultural training
courses. At the end of training, these courses officially recognize and attest a role with
responsibility ("local preachers", various intercultural ministries). These seminars and
workshops are accompanied by a tutorial group and focus on biblical interpretation,
communication inside the community, worship, group encounters and training,
communicate to the external society. Topics covered also include organizational
structures, integration, conflicts and their transformation, the history of the churches.
A path that takes the time of diversity.
Born in 2009, the goal was to offer an intercultural path that would allow the
necessary time to build relationships of trust and communication involving and trying to
respect everyone involved. Those who came to follow theological formation perhaps
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expected something completely different, or another type of tile. Who saw him/herself
as a local preacher perhaps was thinking of a completely different model from what was
proposed.
On particularly sensitive and difficult issues, such as for example the relationship
with power and authority, community organization or ethical guidelines, great progress
was made in being able to listen and understand the positions at the table. In being able
to clarify, what one agrees or disagrees on and seeing if one can build a common
understanding, or at least develop a “disagreement covenant", where the various
positions are recorded and taken into account. A very discreet work of translation,
which goes far beyond strictly translating speech and words.
The training provided is conceived as an exchange and sharing of knowledge and
know-how, of reflections and elaborations, not only as a mere transmission of
knowledge. Many topics were discussed, in first place, reading the Bible. Preaching, the
history of the churches, the church organization, authority and decision-making, the
presentation of some major theological perspectives were also addressed. It is an
ongoing development, feedback, evaluation and creativity process.
The goal of the training is to acquire the tools for personal and community growth.
The path is made of roundtables with sharing of experiences and methodologies in an
active group setting. A venue where everyone’s word counts, where it is possible to
build a path together, offering the whole group knowledge, work methodology and
reflection to develop skills that will benefit everyone and the community.
Such an approach, however, creates a certain tension: those who come to attend
theological formation do not always expect a structure based on dialogue, multiple
reading proposals. This in particular when one is used to a hierarchical transmission of
authority. In many cultures, the learner does not ask questions and those who teach,
particularly if he/she is the pastor, must have the final say on any topic. Suggesting
independent thinking to the participants can then create dissatisfactions and frustrations.
Discussions on the Bible often have spiked this type of reactions, highlighting another
tension source.
III. The Bible, common ground or bone of contention?
As mentioned above, the Bible and the reading of it represent the primary common
ground for meeting. It is also the critical foundation of every exercise of the ministry or
of the church’s leadership. A fertile ground to address many problems and ethically,
spiritually, politically sensitive issues. The Bible at the same time is a venue for
confrontation and misunderstandings, a "bone of contention" in fact. However, what is
at stake for the future is Biblical interpretation. An intercultural biblical reading, which
involves many different types of readers who are encouraged to respect one another.
Clarifying discordant points of view has been one of the key challenges since the
beginning of our path. Teach one another to ask legitimate questions - questions where
he who asks does not already know the answer – also involves trying not to judge
another person’s theology, but providing the tools to understand what kind of theology
is being created.
In this perspective, I would like to draw briefly on some biblical passages that are
often quoted in the project “Being Churches Together”.
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A) Confession of faith, testimony and journey. The Bible as a book of exits.
The Bible is a book of journeys that traces paths. The exodus is the inaugural
archetype of the identity of the people of Israel. Abraham becomes the father of
believers through his journey from Ur of the Chaldeans and through his wanderings in
accordance with the original promise. Joseph, expelled and sold by his brothers,
becomes an adult and a powerful man in a foreign country. Moses, the deliverer from
the Egyptian dominance, leads his people out of Egypt. The trauma of exile allows one
to rediscover his/her land as a promised land, which is also a crucial experience in the
structure of the Bible itself. Identity is formed through exiting, through journeying,
going out, emigration..
The text of Dt 26,5ss is a confession of faith delivered during a liturgical feast
celebrating being rooted in the promised land that has borne fruits. It is the feast of the
first fruits. At the same time, the speaker confesses his faith and identity. Who are we?
Where do we come from? We are what we can narrate about ourselves.
When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance
and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the first fruits of all that
you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a
basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name
….and declare before the LORD your God:
“My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few
people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous.6 But the
Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we
cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and
saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and
wonders.9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk
and honey; 10 and now I bring the first fruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me.”
Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him.11
This narrative is a confession of faith in the form of a journey and is also a statement
of identity, precisely of a narrative identity. The fruits of the earth are also the fruits of
history. The exit, the migration, the exodus become a path, a meaningful itinerary, and
identity becomes a story to told. We are what we are able to narrate about ourselves.
This confession of faith and affirmation of identity are interwoven in space and time.
First the places of wandering are described and after then slavery and exploitation in
Egypt. The exodus from Egypt follows, the wandering once again in the desert, having
been brought to this country. Faith is a path traced in geography, on the land. Identity is
a narrative that involves space and time. From the past of foreign wandering fathers up
to the liturgical present passing through the epic of liberation wrought by the mighty
hand and by the wonders of the Lord.
Exiting becomes a route full of meaning, precisely a path, a testimony. It is not only
a matter of leaving a land, of freeing oneself from slavery. It is tracing a meaningful
road, which becomes a testimony. How? Narrating the journey over and over again,
even a confession of existential faith, as a testimony, each time integrating new
experiences. The exit becomes a life to tell someone, an identity to be shared with
others, a faith to confess to all, a testimony that envelops identity in a story that
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transcends it. The community can then nourish itself with these various narratives,
which are lived and shared.
What is the reason? Because God exits and comes close, he heard our voice and saw
our oppression. God enters the fray and therefore exodus becomes path where the
people and each one of us can state in the same breath the faith and identity. A path, like
a track that leaves its mark on the ground. When the people call, God answers. God
comes and calls, man goes and answers.
God exits, comes, intervenes. This motif is illustrated in various forms in the biblical
narrative. God in his Logos became flesh (John 1,14). Even the second article of the
Apostles' Creed, the most developed, presents Christ through an journey that weaves the
time and topography of a migratory, moving God:
Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended
to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at
the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Emigrants, migrants, immigrants, refugees. The promise is that these exoduses can
become itineraries, meaningful journeys, testimonies that each person will be able to
narrate to others and to tell their children over time.
B) Identity and Diversity
The quest for a new intercultural sociability must also measure itself with the famous
baptismal transformation illustrated by Paul to the Galatians. "For all of you who were
baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are
all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3,27s).
Paul faces head on the group determinations /status that from the perspective of a
Jew of the first century AD determined the existence of each and every person. Paul
does not say that there are no more social, cultural, ethnic, religious differences. He
knows that in the church, there are Jews and Gentiles, slaves and freemen, men and
women and he is aware that these differences may lead to grave tensions. However,
these “determinations” are defused by the new identity of being baptized in Christ. The
original status (ethnic, social, gender…) no longer determines the identity of each and
every one and their destinies as if unchangeable rails, tracks. Community members are
invited to welcome one another as sisters and brothers who are loved and accepted by
God regardless of anything else, without conditions. Accepted and welcomed without
condition, each person is that which he or she is: Jewish, Greek, slave or free, woman,
man. In order to be accepted as a child of Abraham it is not asked to become other than
self. Ultimately, clothing oneself with Christ radically transforms identity and founds a
new freedom. The differences and the specific cultural, ethnic, social, religious and
gender traits do not disappear but become livable in a community of diversity. We are
not faced anymore with separate and final destinies. Rather, people can interact and
enrich each other.
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C) Unity and Diversity
“How to become children of Abraham?” is developed in the Jewish register in
Galatians 3. Paul, who is himself "at the crossroads of the cultures", takes up the issue
of the baptismal identity on the Hellenistic cultural register for the Corinthians (1Cor
12). In this new form of sociability, universalism (all are recognized) and pluralism
(each with his/her social, cultural, ethnic, gender membership), are far from being
opposed, but instead mutually reinforce each other. Paul expresses this new sociability
rediscovering and reinterpreting the metaphor of the body (1 Cor 12.1 to 31; Rom 12.3
to 8), that the conservative upper-class Greco-Roman political ideology would use to
prove the need for social cohesion, especially of the lower classes, for the good of all.
"12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body,
so it is with Christ.13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—
whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.14
Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." (1 Cor 12.12 to 14).
Each member has received the gifts that are his or her own (universalism). The set of
gifts that are present in the community are the work of the same Spirit (unity).The
difference between complementary gifts is necessary because otherwise the body cannot
function (pluralism). The less privileged members are equally honored (equality).
Apostles, prophets, teachers exert the core responsibility of reminding all of the
fundamental truth (rule).
D) Who is a foreigner? Who is a stranger?
The issue of "foreigners" is not treated as such in the New Testament. The use of the
term "foreigner" or “stranger” is used to express the Christian condition in the world.
Therefore the foreigner is not, as one might expect, the heathen. We witness a
paradoxical reversal. Jesus and the disciples are the foreigners, the strangers. The
identification "I was a stranger" in Mt 25,31-46: 35 “For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in,36 “
Identifying oneself as one who depends on the grace of God constitutes the
foreignness of the believer. This, in turn, leads to something akin to a dual citizenship,
which can be read in various texts: Phil 3:20 “But our citizenshipis in heaven.And we
eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”